Style 5 - BBS RC090 upgrade by EWW

[Markos]

Hi Folks,

The two piece 17” ‘style 5’ BBS RC090 was a factory option on the e39 528i. This wheel is a common upgrade for many 80’s BMW’s as well as e3’s and e9’s. Some of our members including @dang, @afeustel, and @vince have these very wheels.

Elrich Wheel Works (EWW) makes a CNC’d “waffle” and polished aluminum center lug to replace the plastic twist-n-lock factory lug bolt cover.

I’m sending these parts off to an international member and wanted to share with you before they go. Obviously these waffles aren’t painted to match the wheel, but one can see the more period BBS RS effect that these waffles have on the modern RC. I must say, the quality is amazing!

Factory E39:

RC090:

This threaded collar attaches to the hub center via set screws:

The polished CNC’d aluminum center lug threads into the collar

The “waffles” are CNC’d aluminum as well.
Quite stout:

The result, sans BBS/BMW center cap:

If one is inclined, they can now grind off the center cap alignment mark on the wheel face.

 

[Markos]

Props to @Spen for sourcing the spare wheel. Great seller and all around nice guy!

 

[vince]

Hi Folks,

The two piece 17” ‘style 5’ BBS RC090 was a factory option on the e39 528i. This wheel is a common upgrade for many 80’s BMW’s as well as e3’s and e9’s. Some of our members including @dang, @afeustel, and @vince have these very wheels.

Elrich Wheel Works (EWW) makes a CNC’d “waffle” and polished aluminum center lug to replace the plastic twist-n-lock factory lug bolt cover.

I’m sending these parts off to an international member and wanted to share with you before they go. Obviously these waffles aren’t painted to match the wheel, but one can see the more period BBS RS effect that these waffles have on the modern RC. I must say, the quality is amazing!

Factory E39:
View attachment 143424

RC090:
View attachment 143425

This threaded collar attaches to the hub center via set screws:
View attachment 143428

The polished CNC’d aluminum center lug threads into the collar
View attachment 143429

The “waffles” are CNC’d aluminum as well.
Quite stout:
View attachment 143430

The result, sans BBS/BMW center cap:
View attachment 143427

If one is inclined, they can now grind off the center cap alignment mark on the wheel face.
View attachment 143426

Perfect timing Markos, I ordered mine last earlier last week and they showed up on Thursday! No supply chain issues with these guys. Paul and his team were great to work with. I can't wait to get them painted out and get them on the car. The black BBS caps are on backorder though.

 

[teahead]

I love RCs, and these waffles will greatly increase their appeal.

 

[teahead]

is that a wheel weight on the lip on that RC?

Blasphemy!

 

[nathanegger]

Perfect timing Markos, I ordered mine last earlier last week and they showed up on Thursday! No supply chain issues with these guys. Paul and his team were great to work with. I can't wait to get them painted out and get them on the car. The black BBS caps are on backorder though.

Where did you order a set? For your E9?

 

[vince]

Where did you order a set? For your E9?

Yeah, I'm going to but them on the my staggered 17 inch Style 5s that are on my coupe. I might get started on them tomorrow. Here's the link to where I bought them, Paul and crew are great to work with.

Ehrlich Wheel Works

Art is greater than Part. Here at Ehrlich wheel works, we put a far greater emphasis on creating a piece of artwork than we put on creating another run of the mill car part.

ewheelworks.us

 

[Oldbmwcoupes]

I ordered a set from Paul about a year ago. I subsequently ordered stainless round head Allen bolts with nylon locking nuts to go on the back. I wanted to get rid of the original hardware that made it difficult to clean and keep a polished lip shinny (and the amount of time and energy I have to devote to this task is little to none). I also ground off the alignment locator line to remove as much evidence of the rims being RC 090. Not that they are bad, just not RS’s, my preferred wheels for most all vintage BMWs.

I’ll post a few pics of my process. I decided to go with a classic BBS gold center as the wheels were planned for my vintage e28 race car. I got the paint on line, they stated they had a proper match for original BBS gold. I have to say, the match to my original BBS RSs is spot on. Also, before I get called out on it, the inner beads of the rims were cleaned before I mounted the tires.

 

[vince]

Those look incredible on your e28!

 

[vince]

Just finished my conversion...

 

[rsporsche]

that is a better look. well done

 

[Oldbmwcoupes]

They look spectacular on that car, especially in that color. Had you previously swapped the hardware, or was it an “all at once” upgrade? I locktighted the small Allen set screws on mine when I installed the center cap holders. It’s a cool system and well worth what I paid for it. Now that I’ve converted, I just can’t stand the sight of the original plastic cap (even though it’s not that bad)

 

[vince]

They look spectacular on that car, especially in that color. Had you previously swapped the hardware, or was it an “all at once” upgrade? I locktighted the small Allen set screws on mine when I installed the center cap holders. It’s a cool system and well worth what I paid for it. Now that I’ve converted, I just can’t stand the sight of the original plastic cap (even though it’s not that bad)

Thanks! I did everything this last week. Took it to our local BMW C&C this morning. At least two people want to do the same to their Style 5s.

 

[rsporsche]

Vince, i have a question ... since i know you focus on details. how was the color match of what you got from Ehrlich compared to your wheels ... or did you repaint them to match.

 

[vince]

Vince, i have a question ... since i know you focus on details. how was the color match of what you got from Ehrlich compared to your wheels ... or did you repaint them to match.

Hi Scott,

They come Ehrlich in just bare aluminum. I used etching primer, painted them, then several coats of clear. The paint on the wheel centers is years old, I got as close as I could.

 

[rsporsche]

that makes sense ... was curious how they dealt with it.

 

[teahead]

Definitely a hot ticket if you want to go w/17" BBS's.

17" BBS RS faces are getting SUPER hard to find these days. Especially in 5x120 bolt patter and/or flat backs for re-drills.

 

[rsporsche]

yep, even 16" faces are getting hard to find. i looked at prices for restored wheels at Ehrlich - 4500 is for a set of 4. the 17" (double step) on 16" faces were 5250. in comparison, the rc 090 (in all black) with the custom EWW metal cap conversion was 2500. pretty significant difference